Automobile-bumper



A. L. MCGREGOR.

AUTOMOBILE BUMPER.

APPLICATIO'N FILED MAR. 24, I920.

1,35 ,9 5, Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

UNITED STATES ALLAN L. MGGREGOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE-BUMPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed March 24, 1920. Serial No. 368,461.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLAN L. MoGREooR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile- Bumpers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in automobile bumpers, and more particularly to devices of the character described whic are adapted for attachment to the front end of motor vehicles for the purpose of protecting the vehicle from collision with other vehicles or objects with which the vehicle may accidentally collide.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction for a clamping member adapted for connecting the impact bar directly to the vehicle frame members or.'to connecting members adapted for attachment to the vehicle framemembers and to the clamping members. A further object of the invention is to provide a clamping member more especially designed for use with abumper structure of the double or parallel bar type and adapted to afford the desired degree of resiliency in the bumper structure and to permit the necessary degree of adjustment in order that the bumper may be applied'to various makes of vehicles.

The structure embodying the novel features .of my invention is hereinafter more fully described and. illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fi ure 1 is a top plan view of the bumper attacl ied to the vehicle frame members,

1g. 2 is a front view in elevation of the bumper,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view in horizontal section, taken on line 3, 3 of Fig. 2, showing the clamping member employed for connecting the bar to the frame members, and

Fig. 4 is a detailed view in vertical sec tion, taken on line 4, 4 of Fig. 3.

A referable form of. a bumper embodying the features of my invention comprises in general an impact member formed of bar material. having resilient qualities and so formed as to be yieldable in a horizontal direction and relatively non-yieldable' in a vertical direction. The impact member or bar 1 comprises a front impact bar 2 slightly curved throughout itslength and .having end portions 3, 3 bent into U-form so that said end portions extend substantially parallel to the front portion 2 and spaced a short distance therefrom. These end portions 3, 3, terminate short of the mid-pomt of the forward impact member 2, their free ends being joined together and likewise joined to the front impact member 2 by means of a bell crank lever 4. This bell crank lever or equalizing member, as it may be called, comprises two lever arms 5, 5 of equal length and arranged at an angle of slightly greater than 90 degrees to each other. At the junction of these arms the lever 4 is pivotally connected to a bracket 6 by means of a pivot bolt 7. The bracket 6 is riveted or otherwise permanently secured to the front impact member 2 by means of rivets 8, 8. The free ends of the portions 3, 3 of the bumper bar are rolled or turned to provide eyes which engage bolts 10, 10 serving to pivotally connect the ends of the said portions 3, 3 with the adjacent ends of the lever arms 5, 5 of the bell crank lever 4.

The bumper bar structure thus described 1s adapted to. be attached to the forward ends of the vehicle frame members 11, 11 by means of connecting bars 12, 12 and intermediate clamping sleeves 13, 13. The connecting bars 12, 12 extend generally parallel to the frame members 11, 11 and are secured thereto at-their rear ends by means of suitable clamping bolts 14, 14. The outer ends of the connecting bars 12, 12 are curved or bent outwardly in opposite directions through an angle of substantially 90 degrees so that their outer end portions extend substantially parallel to the end portions 3, 3, which in reality form the secon ary or reinforcing bar of the bumper.

The outer ends of the connecting bars 12, 12 have pivotal connection with the clamping members 13, 13, the latter in turn being connected to the bumper bar 1 adjacent to the extremities thereof. The construction of the clamping members 13, and the manner of joining the same to the connecting bars 12, 12 will be understood from the following: Each of. the

clamping'members 13 comprises an angular sleeve orjboxlike member 14 open at its-ends,

designed to be slipped on over the extremity of the bumper bar and to surround the parallel portions 2- and 3 thereof. As shown in Fig. 1, and more clearly in Fig. 3, the I bumper bar isso formed that the portions 2 and 3 thereof diverge slightly from the extremities of the bar inwardly toward the center. For this reasonit is preferred to provide the sleeve with opposing walls 15, 15 which contactfiatwise against the outer vertical faces of the bars 2 and 3 with a corresponding degree of divergence, thus insuring a fiatwise contact between the surfaces of the sleeve and the bumper bar. Thewalls 15, 15 of the sleeve 14 just described are joined together by upper and lower transverse walls 16, 16, thereby completing the box-like structure. Extending from one side of the sleeve 14, namely, from the side adjacent to the connecting bar 12, are providedears 17, 17 which are continuations or extensions of the top and bottom walls 16, 16. At the centers of these ears are provided bolt, holes through which a bolt '18 extends, said bolt also enga ing an eye 19 formed at the extremity of t e connecting bar 12. By means of this connec tion the sleeve is pivoted to the end of the connecting bar 12 and is free to swing about the point of connection. Included'between the diverging walls 15, 15 of the sleeve 14 and adapted to have bearing engagement against the inner vertical faces of the portions 2 and 3 of the bar 1, is a sliding block 20, said block having a slight wedge-shaped contour in order to provide the same degree of divergence as the parallel walls 15,15 of the sleeve 14. Extending through-the central part of the block 20 and longitudinally of the sleeve is a bolt 21,'said bolt also being..lo0sely retained in an anchor plate 22 extending crosswise of the sleeve and bearing against the outermost edges of the upper and lower Walls 16, 16. The bolt is provided with a head 23 which bears against the anchor plate 22.

In connecting the bumper bar to the vehicle, the connecting bars 12, 12 would be attached to the vehicle frame members 11, 11, and then having slipped the sleeve members 14 over the ends of the bumper bar 1, with the wedge block removed, the said sleeves 14 would be attached to the ends of the connecting bars 12. Havin thus determined the proper position for t e clamping members 13, 13, the wedge block 20 together with its bolt 21 and anchor plate 22 are inserted within each sleeve 14 with the diverging faces thereof in contact with the portions 2 and 3 of the bumper bar. By turning the bolt 21 bymeans of a wrench engaging the head 23 thereof, the block is drawn toward the anchorplate thereby spreading the portions 2 and 3 of the bar 1, forcing them tightly into frictional engagement with the contactin walls of the sleeve 14. In this maner the elampin members 13 are securely, although adjusta ly, connected to the impact bar, and the clamping members in turn pivotally connected to the ends of the connecting bars 12, 12.

Clamping members constructed in the manner hereinbefore described provide a particularly desirable means for connecting the impact bar to the vehicle frame mem bers or intermediate connecting bars, particularly where the impact bar is of a resilient structure and consists of two parallel and spaced portions. The sleeve fitting over the ends of the impact bar and inclosingthe spaced portions thereof together with the wedge block, operative to clamp the portions of the impact bar against the surrounding sleeve, affords a rigid connection between the clamping member and the impact bar and at the same timte permits the clamping members to be connected to the impact bar in one of several adjusted positions, thereby permitting the impact bar to be attached to various makes of vehicles which differ in the distance separating the frame members, and hence the points of attachment. By reason of the bolt and eye connection between the clamping members and the connecting bars, apivotal joint is formed which affords ample flexibility in the bumper structure and at the same time the presence of the wedge block between the spaced portions of the impact bar provides a more rigid construction, particularly at the ends of the impact bar.

The structure herein described and illustrated is more specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bumper structure, the combination of an impact bar and a clamping member comprising a sleeve member embracing said bar and adapted to be connected to a vehicle frame, and a block insertible between said bar and said sleeve, and means for adjusting said block.,

2. In a bumper structure, the combination of an impact bar and a clamping member comprising asleeve member embracing said bar and. adapted to be connected with a vehicle frame member, and a wedge block mounted between said sleeve and said bar, and an adjusting screw carried by said sleeve and engaging said block.

3. In a bumper structure, the combination with an impact bar, of a clamping member comprising a sleeve member embracing said bar and adapted for pivotal connection with a vehicle frame member, and a wedge block mounted between a wall of said sleeve and said bar, and a bolt anchored in said sleeve ber comprising a sleeve member embracing said bar and pivotally connected with said connecting member, and a wedge block mounted between a wall of said sleeve and said bar, and a bolt anchored in said sleeve and having screw threaded engagement with said block, and operative to move said block longitudinally within said sleeve.

5. In a bumper structure, the combination of an impact member comprising two spaced bars, and means for attaching said member to a vehicle frame member, comprising a sleeve adapted to embrace said bars, a block adapted to be mounted between said bars, and means for adjusting said block longitudinally of said bars.

6. In a bumper structure, the combination of an impact member comprising two spaced bars, and means for attaching said member to a vehicle frame member, comprising a sleeve embracing said bars, a connecting bar adapted for attachment at one end to the vehicle frame, and pivotally connected at its opposite end with said sleeve, a wedge block mounted within said sleeve and between said bars, and means for adjusting said block longitudinally to force said bars into frictional engagement with opposite walls of said sleeve.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this th day of March, A. D., 1920.

ALLAN L. MGGREGOR. 

